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Friday, May 3, 2013

Mikey Welsh, American artist and musician (Weezer), died he was 40.

Michael Edward "Mikey" Welsh was an American artist and musician, best known as the former bassist of Weezer. He played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo during Cuomo's time in Boston during the hiatus in the band Homie. Following original bassist Matt Sharp's decision to leave Weezer to focus on his group, The Rentals,
Welsh was chosen to take over for him. Welsh played with Weezer from
the time that they regrouped in 2000 until August 2001, when he suffered
a mental breakdown. Shortly afterwards, he retired from music to focus on his art career.[2] Welsh died on October 8, 2011.[30]

Mental breakdown and exit from Weezer

Mikey Welsh left Weezer in 2001 for reasons that were left unclear to
the public for several years after it happened. It was eventually
revealed that he did in fact have a nervous breakdown due to drug use, undiagnosed mental conditions, and the constant wear of touring. The combination of these factors ultimately led Welsh to attempt suicide via drug overdose.[3] He was checked in to a psychiatric hospital sometime during August 2001.[14] He later spoke about the ordeal in an interview with the website Rock Salt Plum:

Basically, a lifetime of doing drugs and being undiagnosed as having bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder
finally caught up with me when I was 30 years old. At the beginning of a
3-month European tour with Weezer, I started slowly falling apart.
Without getting too graphic, by the time the tour was winding up, my
weight had gone down to about 140lbs (I'm 6'2") [63,5 kg - 1,88 m] and
mentally completely wiped out. When I returned to the States, my family
had made plans for me to see a psychiatrist in Boston. First though, we had to play a few dates around the U.S., and perform on The Tonite (sic) Show (which ended up being my last performance with Weezer). By the time I got to Boston, I was having a complete nervous breakdown.
It ended with a severe suicide attempt (an overdose). I was found and
rushed to the hospital where I had come to within minutes of my heart
completely stopping. I was in a coma for a few days, and woke up in a lockdown psychiatric ward.

Retirement from music

In late 2001/2002, Welsh returned to the Boston music scene by temporarily joining Nate Albert's (guitarist for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) band, The Kickovers.[2]
In an interview, he expressed his distaste for the corporate music
process, stating that, "It’s actually fun to just be playing in the
studio without some major-label idiot standing over your shoulder."[18]
Soon after, he retired from music to become a full-time artist.[2] He, his wife and their two sons lived in Vermont.[9][19]
Welsh attended a Weezer show on July 12, 2005 in Lewiston, Maine. Cuomo dedicated "Hash Pipe" to him, the very mention of his name drawing forth cheers from the crowd. Welsh also got to meet current Weezer bassist Scott Shriner.[20]
On September 2, 2010, he played bass on the song "Hash Pipe" with Weezer at a show in Essex Junction, Vermont.
On July 29, 2011, Welsh played guitar on the song "Undone" with Weezer and Flaming Lips at a show in New York.

Art career

Welsh became an artist. As of August 2008, he had 13 exhibitions of his artwork.[21] He was a member of Outsider Art.[22]
A quote from Welsh's official website explains his methods of creating his art:

“

Welsh attacks
his canvases with pure spontaneity and aggression, almost never using a
brush and preferring to work only with his hands and fingers. This
technique gives him the opportunity to get as close and "inside" to his
paintings as he needs to be. For him, this is a necessity. Welsh also
works in sculpture, working with found objects. Constructing creatures
out of broken and dismantled chairs and furniture, to vacuum hoses,
tupperware, wire, and rope. All painted with his usual explosion of
color.[21]

”

His artwork is featured on a Burton snowboard, in a line of snowboards titled "The Farm".[23] He recently designed and painted the album cover for Twin Berlin's debut album.[24]

Death

On October 8, 2011, Welsh's Facebook page announced that he had
"passed away unexpectedly", with a memorial image attached. It was later
announced that Welsh had been found dead in a hotel room in Chicago, from a suspected drug overdose leading to a heart attack.[25][26][27]
He had posted on Twitter on September 26, 2011, "dreamt i died in
chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will
today"[28] followed by "correction - the weekend after next"[29]. There has been discussion of whether his prediction was a self-fulfilling prophecy[30].